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The type of reading intervention to use with a particular child should be selected by a tutor and the reading specialist at the America Reads Challenge site, with help from the child’s reading teacher if the child is school-aged. The selection should be based on the child’s language experiences, skills, and abilities and his or her age and developmental period.
There are several levels of reading interventions that can be provided to children at your site. More basic interventions can focus primarily on reading to or with the child, as a means to create an appreciation of the written word and an awareness of printed language. More intensive interventions can engage the child in learning the alphabet; understanding the relation of letters and words; understanding that language is made of words, syllables, and phonemes; learning letter sounds; sounding out new words; identifying words in print accurately and easily; knowing spelling patterns; and learning to read reflectively. Below, Level 1 is an example of a basic intervention and Level 3 is a more intensive intervention. The more intensive the intervention, the greater the opportunity the child has to develop a broad array of language skills.
Level 1: The tutor reads to or with the child for 30 minutes once a week, draws the child’s attention to new words in the readings, and helps the child get a library card. The child’s family follows up at home by reading to the child 4 days a week for 30 minutes.
Reading to or with a child at least 30 minutes a week and encouraging family members to read to or with the child an additional 4 days a week for 30 minutes is one of the best ways to encourage emerging literacy and to reinforce reading skills and interest. See The READ*WRITE*NOW! Partners Tutoring Program or Tutoring Strategies for Preschool and Kindergarten in On the Road to Reading: A Guide for Community Partners for examples of read-aloud interventions.
Level 2: The tutor conducts the Level 1 activity above and then engages the child in one or more follow-up reading or writing activities, such as those provided in the READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities Book.
Engaging children in appropriate reading or writing activities after reading a book together provides an opportunity to apply and reinforce language skills. Tutors are encouraged to use the free READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities Book, which provides developmentally appropriate language activities for children from birth through Grade 6, and extends reading time together. The tutor can also encourage families to use the READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities Book at home for additional learning time. See the America Reads Challenge: READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities Book.
Level 3: The tutor conducts the Level 1 activity above and then works with the child using skills development activities specifically designed to improve that child’s language skills. Generally the child’s reading teacher or a reading specialist at the site conducts an assessment of the child’s reading and other language skills. This assessment provides information on what language areas the child needs practice and help.
To determine the specific needs of each child in your site, an assessment of the child’s current reading and other language skills and abilities can be very helpful. Reading teachers and specialists at your site or from the child’s school can assess children’s skills and propose interventions that can improve those skills. For school-age children, tutoring programs that link to the child’s school interventions show greater student gains than those that do not. Tutors are encouraged to work with each child’s teacher so tutoring sessions can be aligned with and support the work the child is doing in school.
Language and Reading Materials